Norton Asks Chairman Denham to Move Old Post Office Hearing from an Abandoned Building

WASHINGTON, DC – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today asked Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management Chairman Jeff Denham (R-CA) to move the subcommittee hearing scheduled for tomorrow at the abandoned Old Post Office annex, which would be the second subcommittee hearing held there, to the House to avoid undermining the seriousness of the subcommittee's oversight effort now that a developer has been chosen for the Old Post Office. Norton, the ranking member of the subcommittee, has been an outspoken critic of the General Services Administration's (GSA) property management, particularly of the GSA's "indefensible delay on the Old Post Office project." However, she said, she would not participate in a hearing in an abandoned building that could be seen as overkill or political theater, distracting from an important issue in her district.

The Congresswoman, whose bill forced GSA to act on the Old Post Office redevelopment, attended the subcommittee's previous hearing in January 2011 at the Old Post Office annex, which has been abandoned for more than a decade. In her letter, she objected to the extra funds that would be required to rent furniture, audio/visual equipment, lighting and other measures necessary to hold a hearing in the building.

Norton's letter offered examples of several of the obstacles she has encountered in her struggle to get the historic structure renovated. "I can understand your frustration with the project, but I doubt that it is greater than mine," Norton wrote. "I do not want to be associated with a hearing that could undermine my efforts on the Old Post Office project, and one that, I believe, could unfairly impugn your work on the Old Post Office."

The full letter is below.

Published February 8, 2012

February 8, 2012

The Honorable Jeff Denham
Chairman, Subcommittee on Economic Development,
Public Buildings, and Emergency Management
1605 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Chairman Denham:

I write to request that the hearing entitled "One Year Later: Still Sitting on Our Assets" be held here in the House. I started to tell you on Friday, February 3, 2012, why I felt it inappropriate to hold a hearing on the Old Post Office redevelopment while a Request for Proposal was outstanding. Now that the General Services Administration (GSA) has announced the preferred developer, a hearing could yield at least some useful information beyond what we already know if conducted sensitively in light of ongoing negotiations. However, holding a second hearing in the abandoned Old Post Office annex after a developer already has been selected is being seen by the press as grandstanding and an opportunity "to berate GSA again." I do not want to be associated with a hearing that could undermine my efforts on the Old Post Office project, and one that, I believe, could unfairly impugn your work on the Old Post Office.

After spending more than a decade as the most outspoken critic of GSA property management, and particularly of the Old Post Office project in my district, I can understand your frustration with the project, but I doubt that it is greater than mine. GSA has always had the administrative authority to proceed on the project, but after I had offered my share of criticism in hearings and in meetings about the delay, I introduced a bill that mandated the redevelopment, and it was quickly passed by Congress and signed into law. Still, several years have gone by since then, and I feel compelled to continue my own strong criticism. I have done my best to hold GSA accountable throughout this long ordeal, although it is an open secret that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has been chiefly responsible for much of the delay. The obstacles included the several years it took to convince OMB that an historic property should not be sold, and OMB insistence that federal agencies occupy the building. The record of our hearings will show similar obstacles along the way. GSA is culpable, too, and I have spared the agency no criticism through years of Democratic and Republican administrations.

Our subcommittee went to great lengths to highlight GSA's indefensible delay on the Old Post Office project when it held a hearing, which I attended in the abandoned Old Post Office annex, and which required extra funds to rent furniture, audio/visual equipment, lighting and other measures to ensure that the annex at least was habitable. A second hearing in the abandoned Old Post Office annex, especially after GSA has selected a preferred developer, undermines the seriousness of this issue, and will be perceived as political theater. I want to maintain my credibility on this important matter as well. I ask that the hearing be held in the House. I will not attend a second hearing held at the abandoned Old Post Office annex.

Sincerely,

Eleanor Holmes Norton